We had an absolute blast at Indiana last week. It was with the 9 O’clock club, who are a lock for two things. One, we will laugh all weekend. Two, the weekend ends at 9 O’clock Saturday night. Rest and recovery is definitely on the agenda for this week. And speaking of locks, I had thought the Clemson game was definitely a lock. After a shaky start, the Tigers got their act together and by the third quarter I knew Clemson was going to win. The BYU game was a pick ’em and I made the wrong pick. Arkansas had that game won by half time. The biggest surprise was that JMU got upset by Georgia Southern. It was close but no cigar for the Dukes as they leave the ranks of the unbeatens. Back in Indiana, it looked like not only were the Hoosiers were going to cover, but they were going win outright. A fumble on the potential winning drive put an end to the Hoosiers chances and only reaffirmed the Indiana fans conviction that the Hoosiers will always find a way to lose.
Some other random thoughts of the last week.
- Hard to believe that a 2OT win by TCU over undefeated Oklahoma State would be the second best game of the weekend. The Volunteers wobbly winning field goal ended the best game of the weekend. Bama’s loss however did not end their FBS playoff chances.
- Syracuse and Ole Miss keep their seasons undefeated as well. Ole Miss has a tough test this weekend when a hot LSU rolls into town.
- The Sunbelt continues to be the Fun Belt. In that conference, anyone can beat anyone on any given day – like ODU upsetting an undefeated Coastal Carolina
- While I escaped the curse of the 9 O’clock club, I did not manage to watch the finish of the USC vs Utah game. I made it to the start of the fourth quarter. Despite knowing it was going to come down the wire, the lure of the Airbnb king bed was too strong to keep me up and I missed the Utes big win.
My 2 – 2 record from last weekend did nothing to restore my confidence in my picks. Houston let me down earlier this season, but it feels like they are more than three points better than Navy. I have to admit my gut is telling me to not walk, but run away from any game that FIU is playing in. However, the lure of getting 14.5 points against the home the nameless QB, was too much to ignore. Yes – Charlotte has a generic statue of a QB in front of their stadium – actually, they have bunch of generic sports figures around their stadium. It is straight out of a bad made for tv movie, where they didn’t want to pay any licensing fees so the teams are named “State” and “Tech”.
My favorite pick of the week is Liberty getting seven points against BYU. The Cougars have disappointed me a couple of times this year, while the Flames have been rock solid. I haven’t seen Cincy or SMU play this year, but I seem to recall SMU not playing well. That, and Peruna, their pony mascot, taking a dump on the field a couple of weeks ago. It is not the most sound reason for taking the Bearcats but sound reasoning has not worked so far this season. I figure what the hell, let’s go with Cincy.
Here are some other thoughts on this week.
- Michigan confirmed what a lot of us thought about PSU. The Lions were a bit of a fraud. Will Clemson do the same to the Orange of Syracuse? The 13.5 spread was one point too short for me to take the ‘Cuse, but I will be rooting for them.
- Another game I wouldn’t touch: WVU vs Texas Tech both of whom are 3-3. Absent TCU, there’s no consistency in the Big 12, which also probably means K-State will upset the Horned Frogs.
- And speaking of frauds, undefeated Ole Miss visit to LSU will be a great test for the Rebs, err Land Sharks, err Black Bears. I am still not really sure what the mascot of Ole Miss is these days.
- If the FIU vs. Charlotte isn’t the worst game this week then Hawaii at Colorado State surely is. Tickets low as $17. Pity the folks at that one.
That’s all I got. Enjoy the games.
Tree